Jeff Chamberlain, director of Community Planning and Development, said in a city memo that certified rental properties as of Aug. 1 will receive the extension.

Kalamazoo's 16,500 rental units are inspected every 28 or 40 months, depending on the rental certificate they have.

The department, which is budgeted to have eight inspectors, has six openings to fill over the summer as a result of the early-retirement incentive, Chamberlain told the Kalamazoo City Commission Monday.

While the new staff is being trained, rental companies and landlords will have a six-month extension on their rental certificates.

"It'll give us a little breathing room" to handle training, Chamberlain said. City staff still will respond to requests for service in that time.

City Manager Kenneth Collard told the commission Monday he had authorized the changes.

Chamberlain said as a part of the early retirement incentive, his department would be looking at whether to change to a standard housing code instead of a more stringent Kalamazoo-specific code, and whether to wait longer between inspections. State law allows up to six years between property inspections, he said.

Emily Monacelli is a government and taxes reporter for the Kalamazoo Gazette. Contact her at emonacel@mlive.com. Follow her on Twitter.